Why This Was My Best Year Yet & The Steps I Took

You see things 20/20 in hindsight, and recently I sat down and reviewed what a year it has been. It’s my annual tradition leading up to the fresh new year to come. I love to see how much I was able to accomplish from the goals I set, what I can improve on, and what I achieved that I didn’t even plan on doing! I then follow it up with writing out a brand new list of goals for next year. I do this every single year, and without fail, I am able to cross off nearly each goal on that list! It’s pretty spectacular. I want to share with you how I am able to do this, and why this year in particular has been the best one yet! It requires only a few simple habits that anyone can implement to create the life they’ve always dreamed of. So are you ready?

Be Honest With Yourself

The most important place to start is sitting down by yourself, and get very quiet. Like super duper quiet where all you can hear is your inner thoughts. Place your phone in another room if you have to. Turn on music if that helps cut out any competing noises. Close the door and take a seat. It’s time to reflect and get to know who you are, what your true desires are, and where you want to be in life.

The end of last year, 2017, I sat down in my very comfortable high rise apartment in New York City surrounded by press packages, gifts, and all my personal belongings. I was very satisfied and had everything I wanted at that point. But, the moment I went to write out my 2018 goals, I realized that I wasn’t happy anymore. I wasn’t fulfilled. I missed the adventure of seeing the world. I craved exploration, freedom, and a new perspective. I had no idea this was going on under the surface until I sat very quietly in my apartment and wrote.

I listed out the exact places I wanted to visit, Tokyo, Dubai, Greece. I wanted to circumnavigate the world. My dreams and desires where huge and completely unlike the majority of my peers at the time. Guess what happened?

Due to a series of events, I became increasingly uncomfortable in my once perfect apartment. I was being pushed out by the Universe to go set off on the adventure I had dreamed of. I book my first flight to Tokyo, my second flight to Dubai, and my third to Athens. I not only saw those three destinations, but also toured Spain, Italy, Portugal, and Denmark.

I truly believe in the power of writing out your authentic goals and intentions on paper. It’s crucial to get quiet and be real with yourself because most times, your goals will look very different from anyone else’s goals and dreams. Don’t take on what others want, it’s not going to work for you the same way. Listen carefully to what you desire and write those down in a place you can look back to every once in awhile.

Handle Setbacks With A New Perspective

As I mentioned, through a series of events my very comfortable apartment became uncomfortable. From January onward, I had new neighbors above me that would keep me up at all hours of the night. I basically wasn’t sleeping. I could have easily sucked it up, stayed and been miserable, but I saw it in a different light. This was my push to leave and go do what I had intended to do.

The biggest part of achieving the life you want is not allowing yourself to dwell in the negative. Find a purpose, a life lesson, a reason for the obstacles you’re facing. Move through it and do it quickly. Joan Rivers once said, “If you’re in Hell, run”. I love that quote because it’s a reminder that we all go through painful times, in order to not feel the pain, move through it as quickly as possible.

I made my mind up that I was going to pack everything into storage and leave. Once I made that decision, I took the following actions to make it happen. I never once looked back and questioned what I was doing. It was full speed ahead. I highly recommend this tactic as well, when you make a decision, stick to it and start acting on it.

Another example, I was faced with devastating news at the beginning of September. It’s one of those moments where I knew in that instant, my whole life had just changed. Now, most people would crawl into a ball on the couch and not move for months. I totally get that! I had many urges to do the same, but I knew better. I knew I must immediately enter into the solutions. What’s going to help me feel better? What’s going to help build myself up from this experience? Less than an hour after finding out the news, I continued to go on with the set plans I had for that day. I got myself ready, and headed out the door.

Your mindset will determine the direction your life will head. Instead of wallowing and saying poor me, which I had every single right to do, I practiced gratitude. I said out loud countless times, “I am so grateful to be alive, I am so grateful for clarity, I am so grateful that I am able to be where I am.” Instant shifts occur when you do this. It takes the problem and refocuses on the positivity of the future. I began channeling my energy into my happiness and did all the things I could think of to ensure I smiled and laughed each day. Guess what happened? That thing that was meant to destroy me, ended up making me happier, more positive, more endearing, and more successful. Within days after the hard news broke, I was invited to cruise to Alaska, I was seated front row during Paris Fashion Week, I was able to report at the United Nations General Assembly. All these miraculous moments happened! Since then, I have never laughed so hard in my life with people I truly love and care about. I have thoroughly enjoyed each Holiday as if I were a child again! Because of my perspective that “This is happening for me, for the better good, and to find every single reason to smile”, I was able to attract into my life the very things I had always wished for and wanted. Within 90 days, I had completely forgot about what happened and the pain.

The biggest “setbacks” that occurred this year became the biggest setups for the life I’ve been dreaming about forever.

Go Big

My motto is, if I am going to do something, I am going all in. I put my whole heart into whatever I am invested in and it pays off. Now is not the time to scale back or shrink away. When you made the decision, you have a positive perspective in what you’re doing, it’s time to go big.

For instance, I wanted to fly Emirates from Tokyo to Dubai. It was a dream I had and I figured why not go for it! I am here, I am ready, I am doing it. Of course there were cheaper options, but I had a dream and I wanted to accomplish that dream. Turns out, I booked a flight on the largest aircraft carrier in the world! I not only was able to fly Emirates and experience their hospitality on board, but was able to be on the biggest bird in the sky. I will always remember that moment.

For business, I had the idea to hit 10 million monthly views on Pinterest. I am invested in growing my reach there and set the bar so high for myself. What happened was astonishing, within 30 days I hit 1 million monthly views. I don’t know how to set small goals, and I am grateful I don’t because I wouldn’t have been able to get this far if I didn’t thing big.

Breakup With Fear

The biggest thing that holds people back from accomplishing their goals, is fear. Fear of failure, fear of rejections, fear of being alone, fear of the unknown, fear of loss, it goes on and on. We humans have made the world entirely too scary to even move sometimes. But what most people don’t see is that while there is always a reason to be afraid, there is always a reason to have faith. Faith it will work out, faith you will succeed, faith that you’ll be loved, faith that you’ll be accepted, faith that the adventure is worth the unknown, faith you will gain more than you can even dream.

I ask myself throughout the day, is what I am thinking getting me closer or further from what I want in life? If it is further, if it is in fear, I drop that idea and focus on the counterpart. Faith and believing in the best possible outcome requires the same exact energy as fear. The only difference is, you’ll get better results thinking more positive thoughts than negative ones. You’ll also be happier, more relaxed, more present, capable of accomplishing more all by letting go of the negative torment happening in your head.

Just feel good and see what happens.

Repeat

This is typically the missing step. Most people will get this far and then forget to practice all they have learned and wonder why they aren’t accomplishing as much anymore. Keep repeating all of these actions over and over again until they’ve become second nature. Check in with yourself daily to see where you are with things, shift your perspective if at any moment things become a bit uncomfortable, go for the big dreams and push yourself to dream even bigger, and stay in the positive mindset that will allow all the hard work you put in turn into the dream life you’ve wanted.

I feel very lucky by how much was accomplished this year. To reiterate, I traveled around the world, cruised up to Alaska, sat first row at Paris Fashion Week, invited to the UNGA, hit 1 million monthly view (and rising) on Pinterest, laughed so hard I nearly peed my pants. I changed the entire course of my life in a matter of one year, and it was due to these simple steps I took. I am in the best place I have ever been in my entire life. I am so excited to see what 2019 brings! Let me know in the comments if this helped you and what your goals are for the future!

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2 comments

So jealous you got front row at Paris Fashion Week! Would love to know how you got 1 million views on Pinterest in 30 days! I wish I was as brave as you and could just book a flight and leave. I have a cat and dog I’ve got to think about!